Nami Waters's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Nami Waters gripped the edge of the med bay bed and tried not to scream. She was twenty years old, alone on a station she had docked at six hours ago, wearing the same blue bikini she had been wearing when her water broke on the transport. Three girls were coming. She had promised herself, out loud, on the flight in, that she would deliver all three without asking a soul for help. The contraction rolled through her and she bit down on the strap of her top. When it passed, she stared at the ceiling and counted. Four minutes. Then three. Then two. She did not know how far open her body was. She did not know if the first baby's head was an inch away or an hour. She only knew that if she pushed too soon, she would tear, and if she waited too long, the same thing might happen for a worse reason. The door slid open. A dark-haired girl her own age walked in carrying a folded sheet and a scanner, one hand under her own heavy belly. She wore a loose purple shirt stretched tight over triplets of her own. "Move your knee," the girl said. "I'm Robin. I heard you yelling from two rooms down." "I wasn't yelling." "You were." Robin set the scanner on Nami's stomach and watched the readout. "Nine centimeters. Baby one is right there. Do not push yet." Nami's jaw locked. "I didn't ask for you." "I know." Robin pulled a stool over with her foot and sat, breathing through something of her own. "I'm not leaving. You push when I say push. Not before." Another contraction hit. Nami's back arched off the bed. Every part of her wanted to bear down. She looked at Robin, furious, and Robin shook her head once. "Not yet. Blow it out. Like a candle." Nami blew. The urge passed without a tear. Her thighs shook. "Ten," Robin said, eyes on the scanner. "Head's crowning. Now. Push now." Nami pushed. She felt the stretch, hot and enormous, and she felt Robin's hand steady against her, guiding, telling her to slow, to ease, to breathe between. No tear. A small, wet, furious cry filled the room. Robin lifted the first girl onto Nami's chest. Nami looked down at the baby, then at the stranger who had refused to leave. Her mouth opened and nothing came out. "Two more," Robin said. She was already pale, one hand pressed low on her own belly, jaw tight. "And I think mine are coming too." Nami stared at her. The plan to do this alone was over. The next problem had just walked in wearing purple and carrying three of her own.